The body of an unknown mountaineer, popularly known as Green Boots, has been lying there for the last 30 years in the most dangerous part of Mount Everest, which is called the Death Zone. Now preparations are being made to bring this dead body down. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has issued a tender to appoint a specialist high-altitude recovery agency for this challenging and dangerous operation.
This dead body lying on the world's highest peak at 8,000 meters i.e. in the death zone where there is severe shortage of oxygen, has been a sign of danger for mountaineers for decades. Which is a horrifying reminder of the challenges of climbing the world's highest peak. Every expedition here is extremely risky due to very low oxygen and freezing cold.
According to the report, this challenging operation to retrieve the dead body will be conducted between June and September this year. For this, a team of expert Sherpas will go to the death zone, recover the body and bring it down from the mountain. After this, the body will be brought back to India via Nepal. At least 6 highly experienced Sherpas with experience of technical rescue above 8000 meters can be deployed for this operation.
The agency winning the tender will have to take permission from the Chinese authorities in Tibet. Along with this, arrangements will also have to be made for transport across the Tibet-Nepal border, legal formalities of repatriation and keeping the dead body safe. The winning bid will have to adopt appropriate conservation techniques to handle the dead body that has been lying in sub-zero temperatures for decades, so as to ensure dignified and safe handling.
This dead body, lying for years, has not been identified yet. It has been named 'Green Boots' due to its lime-green shoes. He was one of the six ITBP climbers who reached the summit from the North Ridge of Everest in 1996. Disaster struck this expedition. Some believe it to be the body of Lance Naik Dorje Morup, while others claim it is that of Head Constable Tsewang Paljor. Paljor along with his companion Subedar Tsewang Samanla had climbed towards the peak on 10 May 1996.
It is said that the three men had reached near the peak, but while returning, they stopped in the death zone. The three remaining teammates claimed to have seen headlights moving above a place called 'Second Step', located at an altitude of 8,570 metres. However, the light was soon extinguished and all three died. Due to the lime-green colored shoes, this body came to be known as 'Green Boots'.
It is believed that about 200 dead bodies are frozen on Everest, most of which are in the death zone. Due to climate change, the snow is melting, due to which more dead bodies may be revealed in the future. At present, preparations are going on for this operation so that the dead body lying there for years can be brought back.
The height of Mount Everest is around 8848 meters. At such altitudes the oxygen level becomes extremely low, due to which there is a risk of bursting of veins in the brain and lungs. During this period, most deaths occur in the area above 8000 meters, hence it is also called death zone. According to reports, till 2019, around 308 climbers had died while climbing. The temperature here ranges from -16 to – 40 degrees, which works as a deep freezer and hence the dead bodies do not rot.
